37 Determined to the End

The night sky illuminated the castle's grounds, and by the glowing windows from the ongoing festivities of the enchanting ball inside. In the castle magnificent garden, many other guests were enjoying themselves joyfully, with several Templar guards stationed on duty. Some hedge bushes lined the pathway, and lanterns hanging above in a romantic setting. However, a small figure peered out from one of the nearby hedges, eyeing the leashed servants bringing around trays of hors d'oeuvres. It was Grave, and she seemed to be drooling, with her fluffy little tail wagging from the other end of the hedge.

"...There you are." Came a voice from behind her.

Glancing back briefly, Grave noticed it was Vaugn. "Master Vaugn! Look! I found food!!" She giggled in excitement.

"Shhh..." Vaugn tried to quiet her down, before grabbing Grave by her fluffy collar and pulling her out of the bush. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked, in a hushed tone.

"...B-But you said..." Grave pouted, her tail drooping.

Vaugn held his palm to his face in irritation. "Are you a complete idiot?" He groaned.

"No doofus! So what if there's Templar, don't they think you're dead anyway? I mean, COME OOOOOON!" Grave retorted, clearly more driven by her stomach.

"...." Vaugn was getting fed up, and released his grip on her without a word.

"Besides food, think about HOW MUCH mischief we can cause! This should be fun!" Grave grinned, giggling to herself in an eerie manner.

When there seemed to be no one looking, Grave used magic to poof like smoke from her location, to the open doors of the dining hall. Vaugn seemed taken aback by this, watching her sneak into the party. He was clearly displeased by this, but instead of abandoning the small dog, he begrudgingly decided to follow after her. Quickly and quietly, Vaugn made his way into the castle, only to see Grave sneaking off down some corridor. Without much choice, he gave chase.

The canine leashed had made her way further in through the grand halls, snooping around where the party goers could not see her. She paused for a moment to peer into what seemed to be a kitchen with chefs making food for the kingdom's guests. Clearly whatever was going on here was a big event, and it only made Grave more excited. Suddenly, she heard the echoing of multiple footsteps rushing down the corridor in her direction. As she tilted her head to peer over, Vaugn arrived behind Grave, pulling her out of the pathway into a small crevice of a wall opening. He had covered her mouth, carefully eyeing the corridor. Grave blushed, noticing how close the two of them were, rather than seeing the black clothed figure rush passed them.

Vaugn didn't move just yet, holding til the next two figures rushed after the first. Once they appeared to be gone he turned his attention to Grave, removing his hand from her mouth. She was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, blushing as red as a person who had completely sloshed themselves with ale. He somewhat gave her a weird look, seeming to be one of disapproval.

"You're going to get us caught if you're not careful." Vaugn grunted, with a quirked eyebrow. He reached behind his cloak, pulling out a handkerchief with some of the hors d'oeuvres in it.

Grave's eyes seemed to shine with excitement at the food, quickly hugging the tall man. He seemed confused, nearly dropping the handkerchief when she did.

"You DOOOO care!!! Oh master Vaugn! Thank you-thank you-THANK YOU!! Hee hee hee!" She giggled, with her tail wagging.

Meanwhile, the scene transitioned to the Ballroom, where Solitaire and Maxwhyld were observing from the crowd. Solitaire was glancing around, until she noticed Nye begrudgingly dancing with Aoba.

Nye's eyes trailed away from Aoba, which obliged the Grand Master to force her gaze back upon him. "Don't look away, my darlin'. Do as I say, or your friend won't be the only one to suffer. You wouldn't want me to bruise that beautiful face of yours further, would you?" He inquired sternly behind his whimsical manner, as he stroked her cheek. Nye begrudgingly allowed him, gritting her fangs.

"Is that... Spooky? Max. Why is she dancing with that bloke?" Solitaire pondered, glancing to Maxwhyld with bewilderment. "We have to do something."

"Haven't the fainted clue, but no can do mate. We gotta stay bogged here til we get the signal. Don't wanna come a guster, before that tall poppy gets what's coming to him." Maxwhyld stated, in a serious tone.

"Bugger... Just what's going on?... It's not like her." Solitaire grumbled.

"If you knew Aoba, you'd get it." Maxwhyld tried to explain as he observed the dancing. He wasn't bringing too much attention to himself, so the crowd hadn't grown suspicious. "Just wait for the signal." He said before glancing upstairs to where Eclipse was.

Eclipse stood on the upper level, peering down to the festivities below. She had the perfect vantage point to keep everyone in sight. Her lavender eyes kept watch on the entire event, spying not only her own forces scattered around, but also Aoba's Templar. She noticed Trigger hurry in, to approach Ayame. They seemed to murmur something between themselves, before Ayame took off running in the direction Trigger came from; leaving Trigger to take her spot on watch duty in the ballroom. Observing more, Eclipse also took notice of six other important templar tucked around Aoba's position like security.

"So if Horrifica, Gaigas, Lyra, Manik, Elliot, Skyletra, and now Trigger, are here... Then that implies Aoba has Flint, Kloud, Dimitri... Merric... Phish and now Ayame scattered around the castle like sentries." Eclipse spoke softly.

Heath stood beside her, also observing the ballroom event. "Do you think Aoba's aware that Hige snuck out the back with Hitomi yet?"

"Aoba is a man of great composure. Believe you me, he knows. It's only a matter of time before his men hunt them down." Eclipse replied, keeping hushed in tone.

"He'll do the same to us if we fail. We better act soon." Rocky stated, as he approached.

"Rocky? You're supposed to be on the other side. I'll give the signal when it's time, so get back over there." Eclipse gave him a stern look. "You must be patient, if we even slightly make one mistake we risk being comply out numbered."

"Yeah I get it, I'm just getting hella bored watching all this dancing. Don't keep me waiting now, I'm ready to shoot stuff." Rocky groaned, before making his way back to his post.

Eclipse sighed, glancing around more to where she spotted Solitaire and Maxwhyld, before peering more around the room as unnoticeably as she could. "Where is he?" She pondered quietly. "(We may need to set the distraction up without him, if he doesn't hurry.)"

A loud crash was suddenly heard, as a Templar corpse was sent flying into the middle of the dance floor from the upper level of the hall. The entirety of the guests began to scream and grow frantic at the sight of butchered body resting at their feet, from what was definitely a violent attack. Eclipse's eyes appeared stunned by this, unsure what this act was intended to be. The dancing ceased completely, and even Aoba's attention was locked onto his soldier's corpse, however, he almost appeared as if he were excited.

Leaping from the second floor, descended the Angel of Death himself, casting magic like a demon. Blood magic rose up in a spiraling motion to catch his fall, shifting to allow him to reach the ballroom floor. Most eyes that cast upon him carried complete terror, while some others appeared astonished and confused.

Nye alone had the look of reassurance. "Jackyn?" She gasped.

Jackyn had a fearless gaze upon his brow, though he appeared to have already exhausted himself to reach this moment. He was panting, but he was determined to rescue the woman he loved.

Shrieks of trepidation began to breakout as the guests flooded as far away from Jackyn as they could. "IT'S...IT'S-THE ANGEL OF DEATH!!!!" "WE'RE DOOMED!" "MAKER SAVE US!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!" "SOMEONE STOP THIS MONSTER!!!!" "GRAND MASTER!!!" Many cried out, shouting with complete dismay.

"So, this day has finally arrived." Aoba's look of excitement shifted to one of displeasure, yet his composure remained intact. "Gaigas, would you mind looking after my lady. I believe a proper introduction is in order." Aoba asked, shoving Nye into the dragon's grasp.

"Get your hands OFF ME!" Nye hissed, struggling to get free. Gaigas kept his grip, getting a bit rough with her while covering her mouth.

Jackyn quickly took notice of this as well as the condition of her wounded hand. In response, he grew more livid, as he rushed Gaigas' way. However, Aoba swooped in to block his path, without even drawing his weapon. "Get out of my WAY!" Jackyn demanded, slashing his knives at Aoba.

Aoba swayed from each strike, beautifully dodging every one of Jackyn's actions as if he could predict his movements. Unarmed, the King of the Rhyme continued to avoid each slash of Jackyn's knives, almost as if in the method of a dance. His elegance and refined manner was almost breath taking, however the evasion wouldn't last forever. Soon enough, Aoba shoved his boot forward, thrusting Jackyn to a distance, nearly making him lose his footing. Several of the Templar knights and Aoba's generals prepared to withdraw their weapons, however Aoba held his hand up, as if to order them to stand down. They all obeyed without question, as their King turned to Jackyn once again.

The Grand master smiled in that eccentric way, as he withdrew a shining blade from his sheath. "Can you not see, that it is I, Grand Master Aoba Zephos, the Hand of the Maker; who is your true opponent? Wielding the holy sword Excalibur, I shall not falter in the darkness. Mark me, with the Maker as my witness, today the feared 'Angel of Death' will finally perish. Come at me foul demon, it is time for your reign of terror to meet it's end."

Ashewyn and Miles arrived at the top of the staircase, in the very instance Jackyn dove at Aoba again in combat. Both appeared stunned at the scene, not yet noticing the others who were awaiting Eclipse's signal. Blades clashed in the center of the ball room, as Jackyn rapidly slashed his daggers countlessly at Aoba, with great ferocity. Aoba didn't even seemed phased, deflecting each strike of his blades. Aoba shifted from a defensive stance, whirling his large sword around him before having it slash downward. Jackyn stumbled backwards, just barely evading the strike. Once more Aoba swung his sword, but his range was much closer this time around. Jackyn quickly casted blood magic in the form of a shield, to deflect the attack. The knife Jackyn held in his left hand was sent flying from his grasp, landing far out of reach.

Blood trickled around like sprinkles of rain, as the magic shield broke apart. Jackyn however managed to side roll out of the way, while avoiding injury as the sword crashed through. Jackyn was struggling to parry Aoba's attacks, shifting towards Aoba's left side while raising his free hand higher in the air. Blood flowed around their feet, as several bloodbone archers rose Jackyn's will around Aoba. This caused many gasps and shrieks from the onlookers of the ballroom. The Blood bones shifted to draw their bowstrings, but before the arrows of blood could be fired, Aoba swayed his sword to the side. Without any hesitation, Aoba performed a spin motion, obliterating every single Blood bone archer in one fell swoop.

The onlookers could see the battle was getting heated, but no one seemed able to move. Jackyn was getting frustrated however, and he withdrew another dagger from his coat before charging at full force in Aoba's direction. Abruptly, Jackyn's blades came at Aoba in a cross-slash fashion, only to have his attacks countered swiftly, before he was knocked off his feet and thrown to the ground. The majestic blade angled down, pointing right to Jackyn's face, as Aoba gazed upon him in a superior manner.

"This is the power of the so-called 'Angel of Death'? Your skills completely lack discipline, it is as if you've been fighting entirely on blind luck. Hahah! Take notice my loyal subjects, for this man is nothing more than slovenly capricious imbecile." Aoba mocked him, pressing the tip of his blade closer to Jackyn's throat.

"With how easily you've taken this bastard off his feet; I believe the Maker wills you the power necessary to vanquish him, Aoba. A villain shall never overcome one who fights in the name of the Divine." Lyra spoke up, some distance behind him. Her icy demeanor could send chills up anyone's spine.

Some of his other followers seemed to chatter in agreement, as Skyletra crossed her arms carrying a displeased expression positioned at Nye. Nye however was too focused on trying to break Gaigas' hold to get to Jackyn, but without her Wraith-edge or magic the attempts proved futile.

"A truer statement has ever been spoken, my dearest Lyra." Aoba smiled, his eyes keeping focus on his prey. "Now that he is in my snare, what ever shall I do with him? What say you, my devoted followers? However shall we decided this monster's fate? Is a beheading in order, or perhaps something far more agonizing?" Aoba called out to his people, in such a commanding way.

The surrounding crowds of Aoba's people began to rally, chanting together as if his fate was predetermined. "AGONY! AGONY! AGONY!" They chanted in unison, like a scorned mob.

"Max, we have to do something quick here!" Solitaire gasped to the male centaur, in a panic.

Nye struggled more in Gaigas' grasp, urgently deciding to bite down hard on his hand. As he angrily pulled his hand away from her fangs, Nye was finally able to speak. "Don't you DARE touch him!!" Nye shouted out to Aoba, in desperation.

The room suddenly grew silent, as the Grand Master slowly turned to focus his attention on Nye. "Did my ears just deceive me, or did YOU just make a demand of ME?" Aoba responded, refraining from breaking his whimsical tone the best he was able; however, his anger was beginning to surface once more.

This caused a chain reaction with his followers, as almost every single one of them appeared to grown far more unnerved than they already were. The higher ranked officers however kept serious expression, knowing all too well what was about to occur.

"In fact, I did. You want me to comply, don't you? Then keep your hands off him!" Nye insisted, in a harsh tone.

The king approached Nye's position of restraint, taking grasp of the hair on the back of her scalp, to force her face close to his. "Don't tell me you're in love with HIM?" Aoba growled, still clutching his sword in his other hand.

"So what if I am?" Nye retorted back, wincing from the sudden pain.

Without any hesitation, Aoba released his grip on her hair, and immediately backhanded Nye. He proceeded to hit her again, but this next time with his fist. Jackyn quickly got to his feet, rushing Aoba's way with vengeance in his eyes. His hand came down at Aoba, clutching tightly to his dagger. Within a matter of seconds, Aoba had took hold of Jackyn's wrist and twisted it sharply, to force the blade to drop to their feet. His sword still held tightly in his grasp.

"Gaigas, keep her under control, would you?" Aoba instructed, as he shoved Jackyn back to the ground. His blade glimmered briefly as the moonlight from the skylight hit the metallic edge. "So you're in love with him? This DISGUSTING THING!?" Aoba snapped, as he proceeded to kick Jackyn in the stomach, punting him back hard.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" Nye screamed, frantically, as she was tightly held back by the large Terra. She didn't even care that her face was bruised or her lip bleeding, Nye didn't want to see Jackyn hurt.

Aoba gripped to Jackyn's hair, before he decided to slam his face down into the ground of the ballroom. As Aoba's eyes turned to boldly look at Nye, he pulled his sword close to Jackyn's throat. Showing her his intents as if they were a threat to detain her. "Tell me, after all the countless deaths caused by his hand, why should I spare this monster's life?" He demanded, forcing the blade closer.

"He's not a monster!" Nye cried out. "Your people wrongfully locked him away in those fighting pits! He's only been fighting to stay alive!"

"That is neither here nor there, darlin'. This man is still a murderer. So it begs the question. Why DO YOU love HIM!? All I see are senseless actions and without words! He's nothing but a brainless savage! You can't possibly see ANYTHING in THAT!" Aoba bared his teeth.

"Ashe, what the hell are we supposed to do here?" Miles was growing more uneasy.

Ashewyn looked to Eclipse. "We wait for the signal. If we strike now, they're both as good as dead."

"You know nothing about him!! Jackyn is not the monster you see him to be. Release him! Don't you understand ANYTHING about Amygdala? Once a bond is formed, it can never be broken!" Nye bluntly stated.

"Jackyn? So the beast does have a name." Aoba scoffed, looking down to the Angel of Death. "I do believe I have decided on the perfect punishment for you, Jacky-boy." Aoba smiled, forcing Jackyn to his feet. The king slammed his sword into a lock point on the ground, opening up the floor in the center of the ballroom. Almost simultaneously, Jackyn was shoved backwards into it. "Eternal damnation." He explained, without a shred of remorse.

Nye's eyes widened seeing her beloved fall into a pit of darkness. Urgently she slammed the back of her head into Gaigas' face, and broke free in order to rush for the closing hole. However, just as she reached it, the entry had sealed itself, being that Aoba had already withdrew his blade from the lock.

Nye fell to her knees in a panic, jamming her fingers into the small cracks of where the opening had been, in attempt to pull it open. tear droplets were splashing to the ground as she continued to struggle. Tears running down her face by this point, as she slowly spun her head back to glare at Aoba. "Are you stupid!? If Jackyn dies, I DIE!" Nye yelled at him.

"Oh come now, everyone knows that is nothing more than an old wives tale. If that were the case, then the former 'Lord of Fiends', Lenault Ghestro, would have died of heartbreak; yet that very man was the one who put my mother to death, after claiming to have loved her. I saw it all with my own two eyes, and that man didn't perish until my Grandfather slayed him. You can't fool me, you ignorant wretch." Aoba grabbed Nye by her throat, forcing her to her feet. "You best forget about that pathetic murderer... After all, there's no escaping the gorgon. You're part of my collection now! Hahaa!"

As Aoba laughed, Nye struggled to keep something behind her back. She had unknowingly snatched Jackyn's dagger from the ground, that he had dropped earlier. Swiftly, She tightened her grip, and thrusted that dagger down into Aoba's wrist. He had not anticipated this, becoming rather stunned. The shock of the sudden pain forced him to release his hold on Nye's neck, allowing her to break free.

"For someone whose lived over two centuries, you must have forgotten why your Grandfather forced my kind into a life of solitude in the first place." Nye sneered, getting to a distance. She still had on those magic resistant restraints, making it impossible to summon her sword, or use her aura.

Aoba was growing livid with rage, his arm dripping with blood from Nye's sneak attack. "KILL HER!!!" He demanded.

Suddenly, the loyal Templar soldiers and knights began to charge at Nye in unison, with weapons at ready. In that instant, Eclipse knew this was now or never, and in turn she gave the signal. Max quickly galloped forward, intercepting the army's joined assault. The centaur lunged into their path, whirling his battle spade at the incoming enemy units. Many were thrusted backwards, taking a heavy direct blow. Aoba's expression began to contort into an even more furious rage at the sight of one of his Calvary units defending Nye.

"Maxwhyld?! You TRAITOR! KILL ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER!" Aoba roared, ordering more of his forces to rush them.

Flint suddenly bursted in through the main entry, seeing the battle commencing. Quickly the werewolf rushed his way across, tackling Maxwhyld off his feet. His claws sunk in, before the centaur bucked him off.

"AhhhHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOoooo!!!" Flint howled, summoning his battleaxe before rushing Maxwhyld again.

More foot soldiers swarmed Nye, cuing Solitaire to leap to her friend's aid. Forming scythe blades from her body to slash back the aggressors like a whirlwind of knives. "Took you long enough." Nye remarked, getting back to back with Solitaire, keeping grasp on Jackyn's dagger.

"Sorry mate, we had to wait for the signal before we could ambush them." Solitaire replied, fending off more attackers.

Rocky began firing off shots from above, like a sniper picking off weaker foes. However, Trigger took notice of this, and began firing shots his way. This resulted in a long distance dual began the sharpshooters. In that same instant, Heath lunged to the bottom level, confronting Gaigas, as the larger dragon flew in like a savage animal, breathing a blast of green fire onto the battlefield. The two dragons clashed back and forth, as Heath swung his broad sword at Gaigas with great force. The black dragon caught the blade in his claws, throwing Heath across the ballroom floor. Miles rushed in to join the battle, slashing back templar grunts as he attempted to reach Nye's position. However, before he could reach the center of the room, Elliot rushed into engage him with his sword. Their blades clashed, as the two leashed made battle. Miles didn't understand how Elliot would so willingly fight for such people, but there would be no reasoning with the dog, and so they could only let swords do the talking of them.

As Solitaire and Nye continued to struggle with the horde of lower ranked Templar, Skyletra joined the fray, targeting Nye. It was clear she had a grudge against Nye since their last encounter, which only made her attacks more fierce. Magical blasts came flying their way as the blue coated tactician commanded the swarm of knights. She was handling multitasking this battle without much effort it seemed. She continuously casted out various elemental spells at the girls, who unfortunately were unable to dodge every one of the long range attacks. They already had more than they could handle, fighting off the floor of Knights surrounding them. Ashewyn proceeded to make his way into the war zone, using his flaming aura to form his dragon armor. His path was obstructed as arrows began to rain down upon him, this left him completely on the defensive. Once there was a pause, he located his attacker; it was the Terra assassin, Manik. Quickly shifting from his bow, the assassin dove at Ashewyn, shifting to close range daggers.

Upon getting into range, their blades clashed, matching blow for blow, before Ashewyn swung hard enough to disarm Manik. The Terra seemed unburdened by this, withdrawing his bow once again. This time his arrows were different, they almost seemed to show a flare of fire burning. Jumping back to a distance, Manik midair fired a shot, hitting at Ashewyn's feet. The ground around him erupted into flames as the arrow ignited into an explosive blast. Ashewyn realized immediately that this wasn't going to be an easy enemy to make battle with. Eclipse kept her focus on Aoba's location, choosing to leap from her elevated position into an aerial strike from above. As the elf came flying downward, Aoba quickly took notice of her, and despite his shock, Aoba whirled Excalibur at Eclipse. Their swords narrowly missed each other, as Eclipse took the blunt force of his attack, being casted across the battlefield.

The crowd of party goers began screaming, and fleeing for the nearest exits as war began to break out further within the ballroom. Ashewyn immediately realized what had happened to Eclipse, knowing well enough that their plan backfired. He forced his way through Manik, ignoring the arrows flying towards his back. He rushed to Eclipse's side as fast as he could, while Aoba was preparing another strike. As the sword came crashing down, Ashewyn leapt in the way, using his sword to parry the attack. He was immediately flung backward into Eclipse, panting heavily as the angered Grand Master placed his eyes upon them.

"You were preparing to over throw me, weren't you, Eclipse!? How dare YOU orchestrate so many of my own, along with these SAVAGES, to BETRAY ME!!! I thought by now YOU of all people, WOULD HAVE LEARNED!!!" Aoba was becoming unhinged, shouting in a blind rage.

"Don't even think about it, pal." Ashewyn sneered, getting to his feet. "You've hurt her enough!" He was flowing around with his aura, like wildfire.

"So you resort to taking help from an Amygdala. Tsk. Horrifica. Lyra. Do take care of Eclipse, would you? This BOY dares to DEFY ME!!" Aoba hissed, as he flung Ashewyn up into the air and forming six wings, as he flew after him with Excalibur swinging inbound. Ashewyn was forced to form his wings and take on combat in the air.

"Ashewyn!?" Eclipse gasped, completely surprised by his action, but also worried about his safety. However, she found herself the target of two of Aoba's remaining maidens.

"Betraying our beloved?! You never loved Aoba, did you, Eclipse!!!" Lyra snarled, casting out of wave of ice like an enraged banshee.

"Only the two of us have ever been loyal to Aoba's love. Now you will suffer the consequences of betraying him!" Horrifica added in, forming a tome to add more magical attacks to fly at Eclipse like a great typhoon of mana.

Many individual battles were ongoing in the midst of this heated warfare. Ashewyn continued to make battle with Aoba, despite arrows blasting his way. Lower ranked templar were falling like cannon fodder, as the Generals took on the charge of the main conflicts. Rocky had taken several gunshots, forcing him to join the battle on the ground. Before he could prepare a close range attack, Trigger had already cast aside her rifle and withdrew her blade to slash him back into the wall. He had taken heavy blows by now, bleeding fairly heavily.

"Rocky!" Heath shouted, knocking back Gaigas to rush to his brother's aid. Quickly his massive swords thrusted at Trigger, bouncing her away from his wounded brother.

A chain reaction immediately took place, as Flint knocked passed Maxwhyld to rush to Trigger's safety, throwing the centaur into the staircase. Max too had taken injuries, but there was far too much conflict to cease now, he had to stand up. Everyone was getting exhausted, reaching their physical limitation in each of their ongoing struggles. Nye was struggling to even stand, being unable to use her full strength here. Solitaire was taking on the majority that came their way, but Skyletra was keeping the pressure heavy.

Ashewyn and Aoba's blades continue to clash in an aerial duel, before the red haired Amygdala was knocked out of the sky, onto the hard ground with an immense force from Aoba's attack. He was panting heavily as he laid on his back in the middle of the battlefield, seeing Eclipse being ganged up on by not one, but two of Aoba's forces. She was becoming incredibly battered from the magical injuries.

Ashe thought for a moment as he tried to focus through his blacken eyes, "(This... This is too much... We're outnumbered here.... We don't have any choice... We HAVE to escape...before...)" Struggling, Ashewyn forced himself to his feet.

Miles was knocked backwards, taking more damage to his already wounded state as Elliot brought a walloping amount of resilience to their engagement. Miles too was realizing this was too much, but no one seemed to be giving up just yet.

"Nye. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold them off. We need to get out of here!" Solitaire panted.

"I'm not leaving without Jackyn! There must be another way down there!" Nye responded, sternly.

"YOU HAVE TO RETREAT!!!!" Eclipse frantically cried out to her allies, between being pummeled into the ground by two high level spell casters.

Immediately this instruction triggered their entire forces, causing them all shift their focus, and flee with great urgency. Ashewyn scrambled to stay on his feet, as he dove for Eclipse. He scooped her off the ground, using his wings to fly into the air. Maxwhyld stumbled to his hooves, galloping fast to Solitaire and Nye while no one was barraging him with attacks. Swiftly he scooped both girls onto his back, running in the direction Ashewyn was positioned. He hurried, hoping he could catch up, before Aoba was able to obstruct their path in midair. As he ran, he was coming into range where Miles was confronting Elliot, seeing the feline thrust his blade through the dog's palm.

"Miles!?" Solitaire and Nye gasped.

As Maxwhyld rushed passed, both Nye and Solitaire quickly grabbed Miles, pulling him up onto Max's back as well. He was startled by this initiation, but as he realized who grabbed him, it shifted to relief. Immediately noticing them, he hugged onto Nye. "Nye. I'm soo sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Now's not the time Miles... You're hand..." Nye looked to his wound.

"Bloody hell... when did that-?" Solitaire gawked at it, as both girls were shocked to see the condition he was in.

As they ran, this left just Heath to help his brother up and the group hurried for the corridor behind them.

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! AFTER THEM!!" Aoba commanded, with his forces pursuing the fleeing targets.

Nye was prepared to leap of Max's back, however Miles and Solitaire quickly grabbed to her shoulders. "Nye! What are you doing!?" Miles gasped.

"I can't leave without Jack... We have to find him..." Nye spoke up, as she was holding back tears.

"You're not going on your own." Solitaire insisted.

"I'll get us down there then. Hang on!" Maxwhyld spoke up, shifting his pathway for the stairs, that lead to the depths of the castle. "We're taking a detour blokes! Follow me!" He called, getting the others to follow after him as they proceeded to the bowels of Skyworld, with great urgency. They were determined to survive, and escaping this plight was their only option.

"Rocky and I will rendezvous with you at the secret hideout. We'll get the Templar's attention, and warn the others in the tower. Stay safe!" Heath called to them, shifting his path around to lead away some of the pursuing forces, as Maxwhyld hurried with the others downward into the the Castle's dark chasm.